FEAS Yearbook FEAS Yearbook 2013 | Page 92

FEDERATION OF EURO-ASIAN STOCK EXCHANGES ANNUAL REPORT JUNE 2013 ZAGREB STOCK EXCHANGE Zagreb Stock Exchange will continue its work on encouraging issuers to raise capital through the stock exchange, developing new products and services such as short selling and certificates, maintaining market integrity and investors’ confidence as well as providing a reliable mechanism for funding the growth of Croatian economy and raising awareness about the importance of capital markets as one of the most significant factors in economic development. CAPITAL MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK Positive moments undoubtedly persist but certain risks remain, challenging sustainable market recovery and Zagreb Stock Exchange will carefully observe global as well as regional economy and equity market trends and remain in line with market expectations in order to become the market of choice in the region. The Croatian market is one of the smaller markets by international standards. Nevertheless, we expect that the importance of the ZSE will increase in light of Croatia’s impending accession of the European Union and consequently there should be a rise in trading volumes, the historically low level of After the downgrade of Croatia to sub- investment grade (S&P, Moody’s), pressure on policy makers is even stronger to implement the consolidation on the expenditure side of the budget, to halt the unsustainable public debt growth dynamics and to address the problem of structural rigidities in order to increase competitiveness of Croatian economy. Key Information Contacts Croatian Agency for Supervision of Financial Services www.hanfa.hr Ministry of Finance www.mfin.hr Croatian Government www.vlada.hr Croatian National Bank www.hnb.hr CONTACT INFORMATION Contact Name Sanda Kuhtic Nalis PAGE 90 E-mail [email protected] Website www.zse.hr which is currently putting off non-residents from larger portfolio investments. The upcoming privatisations will also have a benign impact on liquidity, as there is still plenty of potential in this field. Although significantly changed circumstances in the European market (e.g. recession, debt crisis) surely limit the positive effects of membership, we think that Croatia will enjoy multiple benefits by joining the single European market. These include higher inflow of capital, a stronger institutional framework, continued reforms and fiscal adjustment.* * Raiffeisenbank Austria d.d. Zagreb Economic Research Department